Housemaster News

Francois Louw
 (WH 2003)
Springbok World Cup Squad

Hi All

I am on duty this weekend so please contact me on 0833915669.

The matric exams are now petering out and I have heard a lot of banter about suits, dates and the after-party slowly taking prominence. I am always amazed that another matric dance is upon us already. I am also always interested that the after party is often more of a focus for the boys than the actual matric dance, and we spend so much money on the matric dance.  I suppose this is just the nature of most boys at this age.  Despite this, I love the dance! I am busy typing away while watching the World Cup match between Australia and the USA. JJ Gagiano and Daniel Vickerman are playing against each other; both are Bishops boys. I was so pleased also to see Francois Louw (White House old boy) playing as well for the Springboks against Namibia yesterday. Surely, this must be some kind of record for one school to have a representative playing in one WC for three different nations.  Something  special to be proud of for any Bishops boy.

This week the senior and juniors participated in the inter-house soccer. Both teams did very well, but it was the juniors who achieved glory in the end. The seniors played all the soccer in the semi-finals against Founders, but lost two nil. We played traditional skilful soccer where Founders simply blasted the ball up the middle and waited for us to make mistakes on defence. Simple tactics which worked for them.  It sounds ridiculous, but I think we were too good for our own good – sounds like a Peter deVilliersism!

Happy Victorious Junior Soccer Team

The following report was written was sent to me by Llewellyn Shanjengange (8):

“ The juniors made the final against Gray which we won. Ilyass Petersen scored the first goal with a brilliant shot. The second goal came from Makumba Chiti, who looked to struggling throughout the match with his stretch shorts. He broke the line and finished in off with great class. Jonathan Sheefeni scored the third to make sure White house won. Stefan Baartman scored the fourth with a header from another well 

aimed Taku  Mtombeni cross. Stefan got his second to finish off the 5-0 demolition of                                      Gray. So far the juniors have won the basketball, rugby and now the  soccer! “

Jason Morris (Grade 11) whom I mentioned in a previous post for making the Western Province final 7 aside trials has been selected into the team. Well done to Jason, who also had a great season for the 1^st XV.  He will certainly be a player to watch next year.

Grade 11s Deep in conference! 

I was away with the grade 11s on their leadership camp last week. I know they learned a lot and will be better leaders for it. They are a strong group and this was certainly apparent at the camp where the White House lads featured a great deal in all areas. I know that the Grade 11s will report on the camp specifically so I will leave it to them to report on.

New Curtains

Old Curtains

Imagine synthetic grass which will not only look good
 but be so much more functional - no more mud patches!

We are busy getting samples for new curtains to replace the old ones. I think you will agree that the new one’s will look splendid in comparison to the old ones. 

We have had a good response to the Quad Lawn Appeal. However, I would like to make another appeal to those who have not contributed yet to do so as I know the boys are very excited about the proposed synthetic lawn. I know they will get hours and hours of use on it. As I have said, it will get them outside and off their computers. The long distance lads will also benefit a huge amount from this. .http://whitehouseinfo.blogspot.com/2011/09/quad-lawn-appeal.html

DON"T FORGET

NATIONAL BRAAI DAY IS TOMORROW

(Julle Souties let maar goed op, hoor!)

Jan Braai is on the mission to get all South Africans around the fire on 24th September for National

Braai Day otherwise known as Heritage Day. Here’s Jan’s advice on how to keep the fire burning,

amongst other nuggets of braai-side wisdom.

1. Nothing beats a real wood fire.

2. 'Gas' is Afrikaans for a guest at your braai, not something you braai with.

3. Braaing is the only fat-negative way of cooking food. Even when you steam food the fat in it

stays behind. When you braai the fat drips out.

4. Try not to braai with indigenous wood. Alien vegetation like Rooikrantz and Blackwattle

drink lots of ground water and besides it feels good burning Australian invaders.

5. Braaing is a direct form of energy use, from the coals, to your meat. With conventional

electricity there is a lot of spillage between the power plant, power lines, electricity box,

wires, stove and pan. If you love the earth, braai.

6. Have enough ice at your braai to put in Klipdrift Brandy & Coke, to keep beer cold, and to

treat burn wounds with.

7. Smoke goes in the direction of pretty people, so send them to the kitchen to go and make

Salad...... for their own good that is.

8. Animals eat grass, leaves and vegetables all their lives and convert it to meat. Eating meat

is like eating vitamin pills.

9. A cow must only be killed once. Don’t braai you steak until the flavour is dead too.

10. A braaibroodjie is your chance in life to have your bread buttered on both sides.

Take care and have a great weekend.

Angus

Housemaster News 13th September

Hi

Please have a look at the dorm blogs, which after some serious cajoling from the Housemaster seem to be up to date. If your son is on the blog team, please give them a rocket if they do not put in their regular blog.

Newboy 7s Team "No.1"
Ennio Hamutenya missing due to injury

Senior A Finalists - "Pride" Drummond on the right
decided to try his hand at rugby after the previous
evenings disappointments on the hockey field.

After our last success on the basketball court last week, we decided that it was possibly charitable to let other House's take some of the silver ware on offer. Our senior hockey side lost most of their games, but considering that three grade 8s played in the side, it is clear we do not have too much senior talent in this arena. James Drummond (SA Schools) could only do so much on his own especially when much of his time was spent vocally deliberating umpiring calls!  In last Saturday's 7 aside rugby inter-house matches, we managed to make three finals in the u14, u19B and u19A sections. Three out of four finals is very decent. Our u15s played their best, but did not manage to make the finals. Both the senior teams played really well, but were beaten by speed for the most. They fought gallantly and scored some super tries along the way. They certainly gave of their best, but were ultimately beaten by better opposition on the day. However, it was left to the upstart u14 lads to do take some glory in winning their final against a strong School House side. They won comfortably mainly due to some extraordinary sidestepping skills from Ilyass Petersen, who at time had the crowd mesmerized, and also Cornel Smit's powerhouse running. The side did exceptionally well when one considers that two of their stars, Ennio Hamutenya and Sebastian Hanekom, had to miss the final due to injury - thankfully not too serious!  It was also wonderful to see that every 'Newboy' played at some stage! Three sides in the finals and one winner is not too bad for a little House! Once again, the boys themselves decided on tradition and stayed in as a House for Friday night and as a result we had by far the greatest support....again. Well done lads.

Jason Morris (Grade11) has been called up to the final Western Province 7s Trials - not surprisingly! We wish him luck.

The Grade 11s have been away for the last couple of days doing their work shadowing and I will be away with them until Friday on their leadership camp in Simonstown at Rocklands. It really is a special camp and I know the boys are looking forward to it. They have some stunning presentations to look forward to.

Next week we have the Soccer House matches which I know the boys thoroughly enjoy.

More House maintenance to be done this year. We are going to be replacing many of the old carpets, as much as budget can manage, install heat and smoke detectors, put in new curtains in all the dorms and complete the painting that is required. Shew...it never ends.

You can understand why we need to look for extra financial assistance for added extras like the quad synthetic grass which I know will add huge amounts of healthy fun and entertainment, and get the boys off their laptops!!! Please see my last post in this regard. Click on the link below.
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6811432520294586360#editor/target=post;postID=6522937937982845256

I know most have been glued to their tellies watching the world cup. Those who watched the Springboks will have chewed their nails to the cuticles, if they were like me. Exhausting stuff.  Those who love New Zealand, here is an opinion sent to me by a friend living in New Zealand........make of it as you will. Next time you watch- watch them carefully!


 The Dominion Post


"If New Zealand go out of a consecutive World Cup because of another dodgy refereeing decision, they will have no one to blame but themselves. The All Blacks no longer even bother to bend the laws. They set out to deliberately cheat.
For only one piffling syllable, CHEAT is an awfully big word. "Who are you calling a cheat?" demands the card-playing gunslinger, just before the mandatory murder and the five aces sliding from the sleeve.
The All Blacks cheat in spades. Half of their tries in the Tri- Nations have been set up by blatant cheating.
Go back to the first South Africa game just before Wyatt Crockett scored in the corner. It is hard to believe that Richie McCaw could be four yards offside and get away with it, but there he is holding back the South African lock.
In the first game against Australia they are at it again. Piri Weepu set up the first try by going through a hole created by Ali Williams holding Quade Cooper to the ground.
In the buildup to the second try Ma'a Nonu sets a screen (much as they might do in basketball) for Kieran Read.
Every week Paddy O'Brien, the International Rugby Board head of referees, sends out a directive to the coaches about issues that have arisen from the weekend games. At this point O'Brien warned coaches about all the holding back and obstruction that was going on. He might as well have told the All Blacks to stop doing the haka for all the notice they took.
New Zealand were at it again on Saturday. There were just three incidents in the leadup to their first try, but the second try was exceptional. As Nonu was running through another black hole, a prone David Pocock was waving his arms in frustration. McCaw and Keven Mealamu had held him pinned to the ground for 14 seconds.
Even by the very high standards of the All Blacks, 14 seconds must have constituted a personal best. Does McCaw have an invisibility cloak that only television cameras can penetrate? Even Robbie Deans called him "a bloody menace" and that's when he was coach of the Crusaders.
Perhaps the funniest moment in Saturday's game was when the commentator opined that Brad Thorn had been "unfortunate" to bump into Williams. The ref was gullible enough to award an accidental offside.
Accidental? Don't make me laugh. The next time the All Blacks play a big game, watch what they do around the breakdown. They deliberately splinter off into offside positions to block the defence. It's about as accidental as the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
O'Brien told me while he was in Italy for the Junior World Cup that no World Cup has yet been decided by a bad refereeing decision.
A couple of weeks later, Paddy was overtaken by events. The refereeing of the final of that Junior World Cup was one of the most unfortunate performances I have ever seen and certainly determined the outcome. I suspect this coming World Cup is an injustice waiting to happen, but don't blame the refs, blame the players and coaches.
One of the joys of that Junior World Cup, as O'Brien observed, was that the players haven't learned (fully) yet to cheat. O'Brien also knows that one of the biggest challenges senior rugby
faces going forwards is to stop the culture of cheating.
Is the batsman who knows he nicked the ball and refuses to walk a cheat? Is the footballer who dives in the penalty area a cheat? Is the rugby player who holds back an opponent a cheat? You bet they are. People call it "the professional foul".
No, it's just cheating.
Yes, I know other teams cheat, although none of them are as accomplished at it as New Zealand.
On Saturday Will Genia was the first to take up a blocking position on the All Blacks side of a ruck and was called back by the ref. Genia threw up his arms in apology – as if.
The former Australian coach Bob Dwyer, like most of the planet, believes that New Zealand lead the world cheating averages. He said: "Richie would be guilty six times of obstruction in every game. I think we have to keep criticising the New Zealanders and making people aware of what are illegal tactics."
In that context, I don't want to hear a single New Zealander whinge about a bad decision during the World Cup. The moment you set out to deceive refs is the moment you lose your right of appeal.
If you live by the sword, be prepared to die by the sword, and the cheating All Blacks wield the biggest claymore of the lot."
* Mark Reason is one of England's most experienced sports columnists. A long-time senior writer for The Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in Britain, he migrated to New Zealand and now calls this country home.


That's it for this week. 

Take great care

Angus

QUAD LAWN APPEAL

8 September 2011

Dear White House Parents and OD’s

As some of you have seen over the last few weeks, Mr Firth and boys are very keen to transform the White House Quad from a dusty, or worse muddy patch into an all-weather sports and recreational area. 

Both Angus and the White House Parents Committee feel that the area would be put to better use, if its surface is able to support all the various activities, throughout the year.  Being such a prominent feature of the House, the quad is used mainly for the White House parent functions and odd concert and up to now during the week it is for the exclusive use of the Grade12s. We feel that this area could be better utilised and actually benefit the whole house if it was more functional.

Very often, however the condition of the pitch or court or field or arena is not up to scratch as the grass struggles to grow thick and lush due to a lack of sunshine.

The challenge of course relates to funding.  Initial quotes suggest that the artificial lawn will cost in the region of R80,000.  A large sum, however if every boy, family or OD contributes R1,000, the task would be done.  Of course, not everyone will be able to contribute, so we are also hoping for some larger donations.

Should any of you feel willing or able to contribute R5,000 or more, we will place your name on a plaque in the quad if you wish it , commemorating your valuable contribution. The amount is to be put into the following school account so that you can apply for a tax rebate certificate.

 Please make all payments into the following account:

DIOCESAN COLLEGE (BISHOPS) BANK DETAILS.

Standard Bank, Rondebosch

Acc: 07 142 127 0

Acc Name: Diocesan College Council

Branch code:02 5009

Please reference the deposit as: Initial  Surname  /2882  i.e. A Bloggs/2882

The intention is to use the same company which laid the turf at Bishops Prep and Rustenburg.  The broad timetable is to complete the fund raising by 30^th September and ideally complete the work by year end.

This project is totally reliant on the support of our White House parent body so we ask you all to dig deep and help us gather the funds for something that will give all the boys continual hours of enjoyment in the years to come.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact any of the Parent Committee members responsible for your grade or Mr Firth.

Yours sincerely
Erica Jankovich  (on behalf of the White House Parents Committee)

The White House Parents Committee

Erica Jankovich                      Grade 8           ericajankovich@yahoo.co.uk
Debbie Soll                              Grade 9           soll@global.co.za
Paul Boynton                          Grade 9           boynton@iafrica.com
Anthea Boehmke                    Grade 10         antheab@worldonline.co.za
Sue van der Merwe                Grade 11         vansclan@mweb.co.za
Angus Firth                              Grade 12         afirth@bishops.org.za